


Home Is Where The Heart Is

by TizzyMcWizzy



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Child Abuse, F/M, Fluff, Gabriel is a dick, Good Parents Sabine Cheng & Tom Dupain, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, I can't help myself, Identity Reveal, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, It Gets Better, LadyNoir - Freeform, Ladynoir July, Ladynoir July 2020, Lots of Crying, Marichat, So much better, day 10 breakdown, day 11 comfort, its sad, ladybug is gonna kick gabriel's ass, lots and lots, they're dorks lmao, uuuhhhh its mild don't worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:29:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25198516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TizzyMcWizzy/pseuds/TizzyMcWizzy
Summary: Chat Noir rolled a pebble in his hand. Up and over, up and over, up and over. It was a smooth rock he found on the roof of the building he was sat upon. Up and over, up and over, up and-His ear twitched at the thump that came from behind him. Chat tensed up and dropped the pebble off the side of the building. He made a vain attempt to catch the pebbled as a set of footsteps came closer. Chat froze and let his hand fall limp."Hey, Chat. Did I miss anything?" Ladybug asked cheerily as she sat next to him.He stared down at the street below. Nothing much. Did you see anything on your way here? It would be so easy to say it, but his tongue felt like lead in his mouth.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 34
Kudos: 525





	1. Take Me Home

**Author's Note:**

> lol okay so this was an idea that was requested by my friend orcarriagesthatwork who was inspired by a headcanon post thing from maketea, but anyway, here it is!!! aaahhh,, I haven't written anything in forever so this may be bad, also it's 1 am but whatever, enjoy!!  
> also, also, this does contain some mild child abuse,, uuhhh should I even call it that? Just a trigger warning, it's not too extreme, not super violent, just be aware!

Chat Noir rolled a pebble in his hand. Up and over, up and over, up and over. It was a smooth rock he found on the roof of the building he was sat upon. Up and over, up and over, up and-

His ear twitched at the thump that came from behind him. Chat tensed up and dropped the pebble off the side of the building. He made a vain attempt to catch the pebbled as a set of footsteps came closer. Chat froze and let his hand fall limp.

"Hey, Chat. Did I miss anything?" Ladybug asked cheerily as she sat next to him. 

He stared down at the street below. Nothing much. Did you see anything on your way here? It would be so easy to say it, but his tongue felt like lead in his mouth.

"Chat?" She asked, turning her head to look at him. She sounded confused. "Did anything happen?" Ladybug looked between his blank face and the street below.

He didn't say anything for a moment. "I dropped a pebble." His voice was almost a whisper.

She blinked at him. "Wha- Is everything alright?" She asked. Her tone was soft and concerned. 

He didn't reply again. It felt like there was something stuck in the back of his throat. If he were to speak, they would all fall out and he'd never be able to stop it. Chat swallowed.

"Chaton, you know you can talk to me," she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and leaned forward to look at him. He looked away.

"I can't," he choked. The lump in his throat was growing bigger. Y'know, Adrien thought it would be easy. Simple, even, to pretend. To smile, to brush the whole thing off, just like he'd done a million times before. But, but this time, it was different. He was tired. So, so very tired. He couldn't push it down, no matter how much he really wanted to. It was stuck, right up in his throat, waiting to spill out. Like an overfilled wine glass at the edge of a table. 

"Is it me?" She asked with a slight tremble in her voice, pulling her hand off his shoulder.

"What?" He whipped his head back at her, "why would-" He shouldn't have looked at her. That's why he was staring at the street in the first place. 

Ladybug’s head was downturned, slightly away from him. The crease between her brows had turned up, different than her usual pout. She pursed her lips and stared at her fingers, which were fidgeting slightly.

He inhaled sharply and slapped a hand over his mouth. A sudden pain struck him in the chest.

She looked up at him, worried, concerned, despairing. "Chaton?"

It broke equally him, and the flood gates. He muffled a cry into his hand, staring into her eyes. Ladybug’s eyebrows shot up and she glanced quickly between his eyes as if trying to figure out how to fix him, like a broken puzzle.

Adrien hated crying. Not the feeling of emotion, though that sucked, it was the rapid breathing, the choked exhales, the tightened windpipe, the snot welling up in his nose, the pounding headache, and the helplessness to stop it all.

He let out another choked noise and held both hands over his mouth as if to try and stop himself. Chat doubled over and tried to breathe, but his body kept shaking with rapid hiccups and sobs. The pain in his chest burned and his throat screamed for air.

“Chaton?” Her voice was breaking. Small hands held his shoulders and pulled him to look up. “Oh, oh, oh, oh, Chat Noir, hey, hey look at me," she said softly as she looked into his eyes. Adrien had never seen that expression before. She looked almost terrified, worry covered every inch of her and she sucked in a sharp breath.

He cried again and put his hands over his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he croaked between heaves. “I’m, I’m sorry.” He clenched his jaw and tried to force his breathing to steady.

Those small arms wrapped around him completely, holding him and rubbing circles into his back. "Don’t be sorry, It's okay, just let it out, it's okay to cry," she whispered softly into his ear. He hated the tremor in her voice.

Chat’s hands slowly fell from his face and wrapped around her. Even though he was maybe twice her size, he felt so small in her arms, like a child. He buried his face into the crook of her neck and just sobbed wreaking, hacking cries, and his body heaved with the hiccups. The pain in his chest spread to his gut and he grimaced. His head hurt terribly, but all he wanted was to cry, and she, for all the world, was letting him. 

Ladybug began to hum softly in his ear after a while. He couldn't recognize the tune. It was warm though, and he could feel it in his arms as she sang. She nestled her head next to his and held him tighter.

His breathing eventually slowed as she rubbed circles into his back. Chat pulled himself away from her, rubbing his nose on his arm. Though, she tugged him back so he was an arms reach away. "Sorry, I got snot on you," he said in a small voice, getsuring to her shoulder. 

"It's fine, it'll be gone with my transformation." Ladybug smiled at him, still with creased brows.

He looked down at his hands, unsure of what to do. Chat hiccuped.

“How do you feel?” She rubbed his arm.

Better. “I’m, I’m okay, I’ve had better days,” He laughed dryly. “I feel better. I,” he trailed off. “Thank you,” He murmured.

“No problem,” She laughed airily. Do, do you want to talk about it?" She asked, gently. 

He looked up. "I shouldn't, the whole identity thing, y'know," he hiccuped and waved his hand, not quite meeting her eyes. Adrien was afraid that if he did, he’d start bawling all over again.

Her eyebrows traced up her head again, she frowned and looked down at the space between them, which wasn't much. "I don't think that stuff matters if you're feeling terrible.” She rubbed his arm as she explained. "We wouldn't be able to work as a team if you couldn't tell me what was going on." She glanced up at him. "Y'know? And it's snot like you're gonna tell me who you are," she quirked a small smile.

He squinted at her for a second before realizing the pun. Chat snorted, she grinned and chuckled at him. Then they doubled over in full laughter, which slowly turned into deep sighs. "That was a good one," he chuckled and rested his head on her collarbone. Then he frowned. "I," he started slowly. "I got into a fight with my dad." Chat bit his lip and let her curl their hands together as she rested her head on his. "I barely even remember what it was about, it was stupid, but, but then we started yelling at each other, and, I dunno why I said it, but-" his voice climbed higher and higher until he choked on a sob and bit his hand, trying to steady his breathing. 

She sighed and traced circles on his hand. "It's okay," she whispered again.

"I-" he took a deep breath, 

\---

It was dumb really, arguing with his father. There was little to no point, and he knew it. Fighting with him only fanned the flames and earned a harsher punishment for backtalking. But, for some reason, Adrien was sick and goddamned tired. So, he did the senseless thing and yelled at his father.

“Why?!” Adrien mocked as he whirled around and glared at his father. “Why!? Are you kidding me? How much is it to ask for one little thing around here, huh?” What was he doing, he should stop. As Adrien glanced up to see the ever-growing look of disdain on his father’s face he quickly realized more and more that he should stop, let it go, and apologize. But the glare only emboldened him, somehow. “I do everything you ask, and more! I model, I get the top grades in my class, I hang out with Lila, I practice piano, fencing, I win trophies upon trophies for you, what else do I have to do? What do I have to do to earn this one thing?” He snapped.

“This is not a matter of your actions, this is a matter of your safety. You stay here where I can keep an eye on you,” His father snarled.

“My safety!” Adrien howled with laughed. “Our city is being guarded by two superheroes, and guess what, you hired a bodyguard for me! If you’re so worried about my safety than what the hell is he there for?” He should really tone it down. The increasing redness of his father’s face wasn’t a good sign.

“You’re so foolish. Count, how many times have you run away from your bodyguard? How many times have you been in the middle of danger? And even with those incompetent superheroes, there is no way you will be as safe out there as you are in here,” He barked, jutting a firm finger at the ground. His father turned away. “You’re just like your mother, never listening to my warning, always recklessly running into danger with her head in the clouds,” he muttered and placed a tense hand on the bridge of his nose.

Adrien shouldn’t have said it, but he did. He blurted it out like the idiot he was. “If I’m so much like my mother, then maybe I should leave just like she did.” His father blinked and turned back towards him. He should’ve stopped there. “Y’know,” Adrien scoffed, “that’s probably why she left us, isn’t it, abandoned you and your stupid rules, I bet she couldn’t take either.” Adrien’s tone turned bitter. “Mom probably got sick from your suffocation, didn’t she,” His voice began to tremble. He should stop, he needed to stop. “She couldn’t take it and hopped on the next train leaving to who knows where all because of your stupid-”

Gabriel backhanded him. Square on the cheek, forcing Adrien to shut up and turn away. He froze. The room was suddenly very very quiet apart for Adrien’s sharp inhale. He shouldn’t have been as shocked as he was, really. Adrien glance back at Gabriel to see a look of horror that crawled across the man’s face. 

“Don’t,” his voice wavered. “Don’t you ever talk about your mother that way.” His tone was harsh, stinging like his cheek. Half of him wanted to apologize, the other half wanted to run, but he stayed rooted there like a statue, head still turned with the way he was hit. Adrien felt everything slow. Had Gabriel hit him with his ringed hand? Is that why it stung so much? “You won’t be going back to school on Monday, and that is final. Go to your room.” The quiet power in his tone, that all the while seethed with rage, forced Adrien from his spot rooted on the tile to run past Gabriel and up to his room. Gabriel, however, remained where he stood and flinched when Adrien slammed the door to his bedroom.

Adrien twisted around and fumbled with the lock on his door. Once it was locked he backed away from it slowly, almost expecting it to burst open. All he wanted was to leave, to run away, to get out of this damn house that was too big and too empty for its own good.

“Adrien?” Plagg asked, flying out of his jacket and hovering near his face, gently touching his cheek.

“I need to go,” Adrien strained to speak, his throat felt raw and tight. His walls would crumble any minute. Plagg nodded at him, concern filling his eyes.

“Transform me, Plagg.” 

Chat Noir lept out of the window and away from that house.

\---

Chat Noir continued to sob as he explained to her what happened, leaving out as many details as he could for the sake of his identity. His voice trembled and grew scratchy as he spoke. “I don’t know what I should do,” He wiped his eyes. “I don’t want to go back, all I really want to do is run away, but I wouldn’t know where to go, and I’ve got to-”

“Don’t go back,” Ladybug interjected.

“What? Wha- where would I go?” Chat looked up at her. Her traditional pout was back, but this time it was broiling with rage. Her nostrils were flared, her lips were strewn tight together in a thin line, and the look in her eye frightened any other confused statement right out of him. She stood up and pulled him to his feet. 

“Don’t go back.” She threw her arms around his middle and squeezed him in a tight embrace. “Please,” she looked up at his face, resting her chin on his chest and reached up to wipe a tear off his face. “Don’t ever go back there.”

“Where would I go?” His voice was quiet and weak. Chat’s heart swelled with affection, feeling loved and cared for, and nearly started crying again.

“Go,” She trailed off, thinking. Her nose scrunched up in the way that it always did. “Come- come home with me,” she said.

What? He almost laughed. “What? With you? My lady, I’m flattered,” he tried to joke, though it fell a bit flat as his voice was still torn from tears, “but that’s impossible, what about our identities?” He asked, already knowing the answer. They shouldn’t, the couldn’t, he knew. Didn’t make it hurt less, though.

“Who cares?” What? “Who cares, I don’t, I- I can’t care about that anymore.” She shook her head. 

“What are you saying?” Chat’s throat was suddenly feeling very tight.  
“We have a guest bedroom upstairs, or you could stay in my room, she rambled on. “And I’m sure I have some clothes that will fit you-”

“Wait, wait, slow down,” He looked deep into her eyes, hoping to find some sort of catch, but there was nothing but earnestness. “What? Why, b- but,” he exhaled.

“Come home, please.” She cupped his cheek and stared firmly into his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mwahahahah cliff hanger!!! >:3  
> The next chapter will go up tomorrow if I don't die before then,,  
> Thank you for reading!!


	2. Home Sweet Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I,” Chat took a deep trembling breath as a small sad smile formed on his face. “Okay,” he grasped Ladybug’s hand on his cheek and held it tight. “Okay.”
> 
> She smiled softly and took his hands in hers, leading him to follow her across the rooftops. 
> 
> The buildings around them became familiar as they leaped from rooftop to rooftop, and he'd be lying if he said his heart wasn't going a mile a minute in anticipation. His breath got caught in his throat as she landed on a particular balcony lit up in soft golden light. He landed behind her as she stood faced away from him, fiddling with her hands.
> 
> Chat felt his chest swell and he put a hand over his mouth, glancing around at the familiar balcony. There’s no way, no way...
> 
> "Tikki," she said with a small voice, cutting through the silence, "detransform me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i guess i did die before then, huh  
> SORRY THIS IS LATE AAAAAAAHHH  
> this was waaayyy longer than I expected, whoops,,  
> anyway, we've reached our conclusion!! I tried proof reading it as best I could but it's like 1 am, and i also didnt do the art prompt for today but whattheever, school ends Wednesday, ill be fine,  
> this makes me emotional and its probably bad but i hope you enjoy!

“I,” Chat took a deep trembling breath as a small sad smile formed on his face. “Okay,” he grasped Ladybug’s hand on his cheek and held it tight. “Okay.”

She smiled softly and took his hands in hers, leading him to follow her across the rooftops. 

The buildings around them became familiar as they leaped from rooftop to rooftop, and he'd be lying if he said his heart wasn't going a mile a minute in anticipation. His breath got caught in his throat as she landed on a particular balcony lit up in soft golden light. He landed behind her as she stood faced away from him, fiddling with her hands.

Chat felt his chest swell and he put a hand over his mouth, glancing around at the familiar balcony. There’s no way, no way...

"Tikki," she said with a small voice, cutting through the silence, "detransform me." 

He glanced up at her to see her suit fade away in red and white sparkles, revealing a simple pink t-shirt and sweatpants. Marinette turned slowly, looking down at the floor. Tikki hovered next to her head and glanced between them with a huge grin on her face. She waved at Chat and flew behind them into some plants.

Chat couldn't breathe. But it was a different kind of speechless than his sadness, this time, he had a million things he wanted to say, but no words reached his mouth.

"Surprise?" She laughed awkwardly and looked up at him from underneath her lashes, then, she was taken aback by his expression. 

He was grinning ear to ear, holding back tears, trying to take in a deep breath.

Worry covered her face and her hands flew up to reach out to him. "Chaton, are you-" she started, but was cut off by his bear hug.

"It's you," he breathed, holding her tight in his arms, freely sobbing again, but with tears of joy. "It's always been you." 

She wrapped her arms around him instantly and laughed into his hair, holding him tight. "It's me," she sighed. 

His heart swelled as he took her in, of course, it was her, of course, it was always her, who else could it have been? The two most treasured people in his life, the two he'd tried to sort out his feelings over, for almost a year, it was her, Marinette, Ladybug. The one who had carried him and held him in his lowest and the one who had jeered with him and laughed with him at his highest. The one who had snorted over stupid jokes and had cackled at bad movies with him. The one who tripped and dumped paint on both of them and helped him study for a history test. It was her.

Chat pulled back to hold her face and gaze into her eyes, smiling like a little kid. He shook his head in disbelief and laughed breathlessly, rubbing away stray tears. Was any of this real? How was he this lucky, there was no way he was this lucky. Was he? 

Marinette slipped her arms up and around his neck, standing up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek lightly. He gasped, staring at her as she chuckled to herself. "Your face is so pink," she giggled, poking his nose.

"I- you-" he sputtered. How dare she look so cute while teasing him. Adrien tried to think of something to say in response but he only gaped at her as she continued to giggle at him. He settled on sighing heavily and smiling at her.

"Are you feeling better?" She asked, brushing his bangs back with a light hand.

"Yes, definitely," he sighed and rested his forehead against hers. A million times better.

"That's good," she said softly, closing her eyes. They swayed together, holding each other and just breathing.

"Marinette," he whispered. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Should I, um, y'know," he reached for the words.

"Detransform?" She offered.

"Yes, that," He sighed.

"If you want to, though it's probably best if you do, I'm not sure what my parents would say if I told them I was dating Chat Noir." She cringed, looking away nervously.

"Da-dating?" He stumbled. Oh, his face was very very warm.

Her cheeks turned rosy as she looked away from him. "W-well yeah, I, I mean. If- if you're cool with it, y'know, I, I wouldn't, y'know," she glanced back at him and let her head fall on his chest in exasperation. "You know what I mean," she groaned. 

"I do?" He asked, glancing down at her.

"I can hear your stupid smile you dumb tomcat," she replied. Chat laughed and lifted up her chin to see the very intimidating pout on her face.

"I know," he whispered, smiling at her. Chat closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Are you ready, cause I'm not sure I'm ready." 

"I'm ready," she giggled, cupping his cheek again. 

"Okay. Plagg, detransform me." The first thing he felt was the cool breeze of the night air cover him. Then, he heard a distinct gasp, and the absence of warmth as Marinette let go of him and took a step back. Adrien opened his eyes slowly, to see Marinette standing in front of him, hands cupped over her mouth, eyes wider than the moon staring at him wordlessly. "Marinette?" He asked, feeling his stomach plummet. Oh no. This was not a good sign. The worried smile fell from his face as he stared at her. "Are you-" 

Adrien fell backward into the railing of the balcony with the force of her hug. "Adrien!?" She cried. Burying her head into his neck. He blinked for a second and wrapped his arms around her as she pulled back, cupping his cheeks and staring into his eyes. "I, oh my God, I am going to fucking kick your dad's ass." 

Adrien blinked and then promptly burst into laughter, doubling over and trying to catch his breath. 

"Don't laugh at me! I'm going to do it!" She cried as angry as a puppy could get.

He stared up at her and wiped tears from his eyes. "I'm sure you will," he laughed and shook his head. Marinette pouted at him and then started laughing along with him. Adrien reached up and curled a lock of hair over her ear. She sighed and rested her chin on his chest, making a funny face at him. 

“I’ll leave you two be,” Plagg jutted in, making a fake vomiting sound before Tikki dragged him away with a quiet scolding.

The two of them giggled at the sight and watched the kwamii go before turning back to each other.

"I can't believe it's you," she said.

"Can't believe I'm a superhero and a fashion model?" He joked, raising his eyebrows.

"That I can believe, your face is too handsome for your own good," she snarked, squishing his blushing cheeks. 

"You think my face is handsome?" He tried not to sound as surprised as he did.

"You kidding? Your face is like, completely symmetrical, you've got big, pretty eyes, and a tiny, cute nose, and these baby cheeks," she laughed at his increasing redness. "Maybe you're more cute than handsome," she mused, squishing his cheeks again.

"I'll take what I can get," he laughed. Adrien hadn't felt this good in a while. Just to stand here, with her in his arms, laughing at each other, he felt like he was on cloud nine. If his cheeks weren't already sore from the sobbing they were now sore from smiling.

“I really can’t believe it,” She sighed breathlessly. “The two boys I love the most in the world turn out to be the same person?” She shook her head and laughed lightly. Adrien, however, was frozen in place.

“Love?” He whispered. What was- was she, was she serious?

She smiled even wider. “Yeah,” Marinette sighed. “I fell in love with you that day you gave me your umbrella.” He remembered that day. That day something blossomed in his chest that he tried to ignore for the longest while. “And then again, sometime later. I can’t put a date to it cause it was slow, but, your silly, cute, cat-face found its way into my heart somehow. No matter how much I tried to deny it.” She shook her head and smiled. “Maybe Chat noir was always there.” Marinette laughed softly, and in the glow of the night, he knew she couldn’t look more wonderful.

“You know when I fell for you, right?” He started softly, cupping her cheek in his hand. “That day you saved Paris and a million different times after that.” She rolled her eyes fondly. “I knew, I know I love you, but I never seemed to know why this shy girl in my class always caught my eye.” Her eyes grew wide and her mouth clamped shut. “I guess I know now,” he laughed. Marinette’s face was very red and she was doing a poor job of hiding it.

“You’re so stupid,” she groaned and rested her head back on his chest.

“But you looove me,” he beamed at her and choked back laughter. But even through the joke, his heart soared.

“I do,” she whined and looked up at him, trying to hold back a smile. Adrien brushed her bangs aside and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. She squeaked, which made him burst into laughter.

“Shut up!” She cried, laughing herself and hitting his arm playfully. He only laughed harder, doubling over and stumbling back onto the lawn chair behind him. Marinette folded her arms and pouted at him.

He stared up at her, grinning like an idiot. “You’re cute.”

“You’re cuter!” She whined, throwing her arms up in the air. Adrien burst out laughing again, hugging his sides. Marinette laughed with him, collapsing into the chair beside him. He took a deep breath and sighed, looking at her fondly. And she made a funny face that melted into a mirrored smile. He grasped her hands in his, pulling them up to his lips and kissing her knuckles.

“I think you’re the cutest.” Adrien grinned at her again.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “I think you’re wrong, but I won’t fight you in something I know I’ll win.” Marinette closed her eyes and put a hand to her chest.

“Oh, confident are we?” Adrien raised his brows at her.

“Yes, very.” Marinette hooked their arms together and rested her head on his shoulder with a thump.

Adrien brushed a lock of her hair back and the whole world seemed to melt away around them. He didn’t think he’d forget what happened earlier today, maybe he never would, but with her in his arms, he felt like he would be okay, somehow. And that was good.

"Should we go inside?" Marinette asked, shifting her head to look at him.

"Uuh," She knocked him out of his thoughts. How long had he just been staring at her? "Oh, yeah, you gotta tell your parents..." he trailed off. A small prickle started in his gut. What if they-

"I know what you're thinking, Adrien," she frowned. "They may be opposed to you sleeping in my room, but they won't turn you away. If anything, they would probably force me to sleep in the guest bedroom since my mattress is more comfortable." She closed her eyes and put a hand to her heart.

He tried to ignore the notion of sleeping in her room as best he could. "Are you sure?" He asked in a small voice. Adrien knew Marinette's parents, but he saw how Tom could get when his daughter's feelings were in tow. 

"Absolutely, they'll love you, if they haven’t fallen for you already," she giggled, poking his nose again. "Come on, they'll be weirded out if you come out to my bedroom, so you can come through the front door with me." Marinette pulled him up and toward the opposite end of the balcony to a ladder reaching down the side of the building.

"Has that always been here?" Adrien asked, watching her take the first climb down.

"Yeah, I mean, it would be suspicious if Ladybug always left the same building, right?" She slid down the rest of the way and gestured for him to follow. He'd admit he'd never thought about that. Adrien followed her around to the front door of the house and into the dimly lit foyer.

"Maman? Papa?" Marinette called into the bakery. He heard some shuffling and music coming from inside.

"Marinette?" It was Sabine's voice. Even with Marinette's reassurances, the pit in his stomach only grew. He felt like crawling into a dark hole."Dear, what are you doing coming in through the front?" He heard a light set of footsteps as Marinette’s mother made her way to the door.

"I, um," Marinette looked at him and back through to the bakery. Sabine walked in folding a towel in her hands and stopped dead when she saw him.

"Adrien?" She looked at him, even though she was confused he couldn't sense any malice in her tone. "Marinette, what are you two doing here?" 

"I, I have to talk to you and Papa. It's," Marinette glanced at him again, strength in her eyes, and grabbed his hand in hers. "It's important."

Sabine blinked for a moment and then nodded. "Oh, okay, well, we've got to finish up some things in the store, but go upstairs and make yourself at home, I'll go tell Tom." She smiled at them and gestured that they go upstairs. 

"Thanks, Maman!" Marinette called as she pulled him up the steps. 

"Tha- thank you, Mrs. Cheng!" Adrien stuttered and followed her up.

She smiled and waved at them until they reached the front door out of sight. 

Marinette took a deep breath and opened the door, glancing back. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" She ushered Adrien into the house and closed the door behind them. "Okay, do you want anything to drink?"

"Huh?" Adrien turned to her as she opened the fridge. 

"We have maybe 10 minutes to get our stories straight so they aren't suspicious. I was thinking that we go with, we both snuck out, ran into each other, talked about it, and then essentially the same thing happened where I invited you over." She explained this while wrestling with the lid to a carton of orange juice. "Or," she snapped it open with a pop and poured it into a glass, "we could do something else if you have another idea." She turned back to him and pulled out another cup from the cabinet.

Adrien stood and watched her, not really moving from where he'd stood when they walked in. He felt, out of place.

"Want anything?" She asked again.

"I, um…" he blinked at her. Trying to get his head to think straight.

"We have tea, cocoa, orange juice," she pointed to the carton behind her, "milk, some other Chinese fruit juice thing my mom got," as she explained she pulled out a green bottle with Mandarin on it. "This tastes good, I forget what the fruit is called, but it's really sweet." Marinette smiled at him. 

Adrien, well, Adrien was completely dumbfounded. Dumbfounded by normalcy with which she treated him, the ease with which she spoke, and just, well, her. Her, standing in her kitchen with a t-shirt and sweatpants, asking him if he wanted to drink a glass of juice. "I, I can try the Aloe juice." He recognized the characters on the bottle. 

"Okay, here," she poured the cup and handed it to him. "It's got some health benefits or something, I'm not too sure." She put both juices back in the fridge and bumped the door closed with her hip. 

"Thanks," Adrien said in a small voice, taking a sip of the drink. It was sweet.

Marinette drank the orange juice and walked over to the couch, pulling him by the hand to sit across from her. "Okay," she started, placing the cup down. "So, do you think we should go with my idea, or do you have one," she asked.

"I, I think it's fine. I'm just worried that your parents will be mad if you snuck out." He stared at his reflection in the cup of green juice.

"Oh Adrien," she reached out rested a hand on his arm, making him look up at her. "Don't worry about that, they'll probably take my phone away for the next week but it's nothing I can't handle. What's important is that we keep our identities safe. And that you're here and happy." She gave him another soft smile. Adrien put this hand over hers and smiled back. 

Some footsteps came from the stairs. Marinette jumped up and glanced between him and the door. "We'll go with my plan for the sake of time, alright?" 

Adrien blinked and nodded, then grabbed her hand before she left for the door. "Good luck." He squeezed her hand reassuringly. She smiled and squeezed it back, then left to the door. Adrien watched on as Marinette explained animatedly, but in a hushed voice, what had happened. He glanced back at his hands to avoid eye contact whenever either of her parents would glance over at him. Their faces turned from confused, to horrified to the same angry determination that Adrien had seen on Marinette’s face earlier that night. At least he knew it ran in the family. 

“Of course,” he heard Sabine say. “Adrien,” she called for him.

Adrien looked up from his hands and stood on wobbly knees. “Y-yes, Mrs. Cheng?” The pit in his stomach felt like a raging storm. He wanted to run.

“Please, dear, call me Sabine,” she laughed and waved him over to their circle. Marinette gave him a reassuring grin. “So, Marinette explained to us the gist of what happened,”

“We don’t have to talk about it if you’re uncomfortable,” Tom assured, putting a large hand on his shoulder.

“And we would be more than happy to let you stay with us.” Sabine rubbed his arm gently. Her smile was filled with such warmth. And suddenly, all the tension in his gut was washed away. It evaporated almost as quickly as this new feeling replaced it. Warmth.

“For as long as you are comfortable, or feel like.” Tom nodded. Even though Adrien couldn’t see the man’s mouth behind the mustache, he could tell he was smiling. Adrien felt his throat tighten. He tried to swallow it down.

“Of course, we would probably have to get in touch with, what was the lady’s name?” She turned to Marinette.

“Nathalie,” Marinette replied. She glanced between him and Sabine, fiddling with her hands.

“Right, but, feel free to stay here, as we said. We can focus on all of that stuff tomorrow.” Sabine waved her hand over her shoulder. “Does that sound good, Adrien?” she asked.

“I-” Adrien started, getting the words caught in his throat. He choked out a breathe. “Sorry,” he mumbled trying to get a handle of himself. But, it seemed all his willpower for holding it in was gone, so he just cried into his hands.

Sabine glanced quickly to her husband and back to Adrien. “Dear, don’t be sorry,” Sabine rubbed circles into his back. “Come here,” She opened her arms to him and gave him a tender smile. Adrien stumbled into the hug slowly as she patted his back. And even with her small size, she engulfed him in the hug.

“I’m, I’m sorry,” he mumbled through tears. What was he sorry for? For everything? His body shuddered in a hiccup. It was surprising that he was able to cry at all after the tears he’d shed earlier.

“It’s okay, son, you’re okay,” Tom said and bear-hugged the both of them, giving them a gentle squeeze. Adrien felt himself melt.

After a moment, Adrien felt one of the arms around him leave his shoulder. He rubbed the tears from his eyes to see Tom beckoning to Marinette, who was standing, holding a hand to her mouth, smiling and wiping stray tears from her eyes as well. She ran up to them and wrapped her arms around Adrien, holding him close. He held her with desperate hands, sobbing into her shoulder again. Waves of emotion came over him, and he felt so free to just cry, and so he did. He just let it all out. The pain in his chest was there, but for a different reason than before. Instead of hate, and sadness, it was warm. And full of, well, full of love. 

“Tha-thank you,” He cried. “Thank you.”

\--- The End! ---

Bonus:

The only light in the room came from the moon through the window and the screen of his phone. 12:29 AM. How was he going to get through the night? Adrien’s body felt exhausted, but he couldn’t fall asleep. Maybe he was afraid of this being all a dream and getting thrown right back where he started. No, that’s a stupid thought. Adrien turned his phone off and placed it on the bedside table. He sighed and rolled over to see Plagg, snoring away on his pillow. He wasn’t alone. Especially now. 

Adrien pulled the shirt he was wearing over his nose and smelled the fruity-bakery sent he’d come to know as Marinette’s brand of shampoo, which was mixed into his hair, and the sent of the bakery, which lay underneath him. The t-shirt was something that Tom bought, accidentally shrunk in the wash, and gave to Marinette, who used it as a sleepshirt occasionally.

He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep. It wasn’t quieter or noisier than his own room, but it still was very different. Adrien couldn’t even imagine being in his own bed.

He was barely asleep when he heard light footsteps creak down and around the living room. Adrien turned over to see if he could see who it was through the opened door. A head with messy hair peeked through. His eyes widened. Marinette put a finger to her lips and came to sit next to the bed wordlessly. Her hair stuck up in a funny way, but the moonlight reflected off her face perfectly. She smiled at him silently and put out her hand, resting it on the blanket in front of him. He took it slowly and held it, her fingers where warm. Marinette gave it a squeeze and then turned to look out the window.

It was a small, silent moment, but it assured him, that he was truly home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;3 are you crying? im sad lmao,  
> anyway, i did art for these on my Tumblr, feel free to check it out!! I like drawing sad emotions so this was fun,,
> 
> Thank you for reading and kudosing and commenting, I read every comment even if I don't reply, THANK YOU!!! Y'all make me go doki doki


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